Postgame Quotes: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
October 6, 2018
Camp Randall Stadium - Madison, Wis.
Opening Statement: Proud of the effort getting that victory. It's not always easy to win, and especially in the Big Ten, and I appreciate (that it) took a lot of guys. It was a good win and I thought, certainly, offensively, I thought the line did a heck of a job, and tight ends were able to run the ball, and defensively, you know, we had our moments, but came up with some big plays and stops.
It's a good team win. Thought the return game gave us some things probably for the first time. Some stuff to build on and obviously you know there will be things we're going to look at and we've got to clean up and try to improve to get better.
Q. On playing a lot fo guys in the secondary because of injuries …
CHRYST: Yeah, a lot of guys played, and you know, it wasn't always pretty, but you appreciate them being ready and going, and I thought we had some opportunities for some big plays. In the one series we had two possible picks and didn't get it.
Credit to Nebraska's offense. They were explosive. We knew that going in, and the quarterback makes a lot of things happen, and we did. We needed a lot of guys, really, in all areas, not just the back end. You know, tried to play a number of guys and that's why I think it was a good team win.
Q. On getting the run game on track …
CHRYST: Yeah, I think it was a combination. I thought it was a good plan that we had, and most importantly, guys executed it. I think there was times where you felt like, okay, we can just keep going on them and yet I think we were six of 12 maybe on third down. That also has to deal with, you know, maintaining possession of the ball.
You know, early, we got in the red zone and came away with field goals, not touchdowns, and you've just got to keep plugging away at it. But I thought we did a good job. I thought backs ran really hard, all three of them, and I thought certainly the line, fullbacks, tight ends, did a good job in the run game. I think you'll look and see that the receivers got involved in that, too, and that was big.
Q. On Rachad Wildgoose …
CHRYST: Kind of knew or thought going in, wanted to get him going. He's been practicing well.
So I think we were confident that way, and didn't necessarily know how it would unfold. Maybe a little bit quicker than we anticipated, but you know, Goose (Rachad Wildgoose) had been practicing well, and these are valuable reps that he got tonight. And Donte (Burton) was in and Madison (Cone) did a couple different things for us, and all the safeties played, so you know, there's a lot to learn from there, good and bad.
Q. On the pass defense …
CHRYST: Right, I think, you know, there's a lot of things that go into that. I think there were some times where we got some time we pressure on them but not finishing on the rush. A couple times we did, and those were huge plays. This will be good tape to learn from, and obviously there's areas that we can improve on defensively.
I think it's never just, you know, the pass coverage. It's pass defense, right, and credit to them. They made some plays, and certainly we can get better.
Q. On Garrett Groshek …
CHRYST: Well, he's a smart, tough, accountable football player. You know, in all those situations you're talking about in that, and even when he goes in, I know he had the one on the ground, but just he plays the game, and you appreciate that. Like I said, he's smart, and he's also athletic enough and tough enough to make plays, significant plays.
Q. On injury updates
CHRYST: No, I don't have much more and probably see what happens. They will get looked over tonight and tomorrow, and I should probably know on Monday, sort of.
Q. On Scott Nelson's targeting penalty …
CHRYST: You know, I just saw it real quick on the deal, so you know, I get it.
I mean, we don't want to lose a guy for the game, and you know, you'll see that. Those are — I don't think — those are tough for the players and everyone understands the rule and we all are in favor. It's a violent game you and want to keep it as safe as possible. You're talking about things that happen in a short time and so yeah, everyone will learn from.
On the pass rush improving:
"I'd say a little bit. That's what we have to go into this week and work a lot more to help on the back end."
On the team without Isaiahh [Loudermilk]:
"He's just another guy with experience, but a lot more guys have had that game time experience so they know what to expect. Now whatever happens to him I know that another guy will step up in his place and do what they can do."
On David Pfaff:
"Pfaff looked great. He got the screen read which is pretty awesome for us. Overall I think he did pretty good stepping into his role and figuring out what he can do. Now all he can do is build from there."
On a high scoring game:
"Yeah, I think we had success moving the ball early. I think a couple of those we finished with a field goal instead of a touchdown so we wanted to keep going and put some more points on the board but there were definitely some opportunities to make some plays."
On his performance:
"I thought there were some things I could've done better so I'll see those in the film room and work on improvement."
On the first half of the season:
"I think we faced some adversity and came back from it. At this point we're focused on next week and doing as much as we can to put ourselves in a chance to win that game."
On the three running back system:
"I think they all offer something different. Taiwan [Deal] is a real tough runner, Garrett [Groshek] as well and JT (Jonathan Taylor) has that in him and also has a big play-making ability. I think they all balance each other out well."
On feeling like they're wearing a team down:
"It feels great, when you know the offensive line is getting a great push and you see the holes and you keep running until someone takes you down."
On a breakout game:
"All week we practiced hard and made sure guys got on the right fits and we moved our feet. We made sure our run game was going to be intact this game for sure."
On Jonathan Taylor's performance:
"I thought he had an excellent day. He definitely hit some holes and when he broke that 88-yard one that fired me up because I love seeing him roll. He's running 21, 22 miles per hour. It's just insane."
Sophomore wide receiver A.J. Taylor
On another win:
"It definitely feels good. I think the bye week was really good for us. As receivers, and as a team, we got to take a step away from football and get back to our daily lives and ourselves. It was good to get back into football but it's a good start off that switch."
On feeling back on track:
"I feel like last week was a turning point for the offense with driving and coming together as an offense. Coming in this week and last week I think we've really been playing together. I think that's the biggest thing really, we've just been playing together and working for each other and helping each other out."
On Jonathan Taylor's big run:
"It's awesome. He's been saying all year, since the first game, 'I need to get me a big one.' He's been wanting that big run and he was so excited after he did it today. We were so excited for him because he works hard and working his butt off, to do that, it was great."
On putting up offensive points:
"All through the week we had the same mentality as coming into Iowa. Coach said we needed to score more points on offense. We can't rely on the defense as much as we have in the past and offense needs to step it up. I think we took the right steps this game. We still have a lot to do and a lot of stuff to prepare."
On pressure for the blocking game:
"Zander Neuville was a monster in the blocking game. He can really do everything. So when he went down last week Coach Turner turned to us. We needed to step up and take those roles. Luke (Benzschawel) stepped up in the blocking game as well, it was nice to see him back."
On the overall pass defense:
"I think we battled. Obviously this is a really skilled offense and the quarterback does some really good things. He was tough to contain and when we got some pressure we didn't get to him as much as we would have liked. I thought our defense backs held on as long as they could and we just didn't get to him. We did what we had to do to win the game, so overall it was a good game."
On the impact of team injuries:
"It's football. Things can happen. It is unfortunate with Scott Nelson, but it happens. I thought that the next guy in did really well. They were filling in and rotating in, so I am not too worried. We have faith in just about anyone who is out on that field. Coaches wouldn't put them out there if they didn't believe they could play and I thought they did a good job tonight."
On covering the backfield:
"It is hard when you are covering for a pretty long time, but you just have to stick to your man. Adrian Martinez did a great job of getting out of the pocket and stealing plays with his feet. In that we just need to get the quarterback down."
On the freshman playing tonight:
"I think they played pretty good. They balled out and learned today. Going into this game I am confident they will just get better. They came in there and did what they had to do. I am excited for them."
Sophomore RB Jonathon Taylor
On wearing down the defense:
"There is definitely a vibe that you get; missed tackles, guys hanging their heads. So it is a vibe that you get and what you do is go to the huddle and you tell your guys to keep punching, keep rolling, and we are going to get through this. It is a confidence booster when you see you are wearing your opponent down, but one of the biggest things is being able to continuously stay on track and keep rolling."
On breaking the 88-yarder:
"It was real nice to get out into that open field and stretch my legs a little bit. But it was just about sticking to that game plan, staying with the tracks, taking to the five and taking the three. Eventually, one is going to bust and it is up to you to make it count. I saw the great block to the right of me and once I saw that I knew no one was going to catch me from behind. It was just a matter of beating that guy in front of me."
On offense getting better:
"I definitely think we have gotten better in a lot of things leading up to this game. We are going to dive into the film and clearly there are still some things we can work on. That is the motivation why you go out there and work. You see the film and you know there are things that you left."
Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost
Opening Statement: "We just need to get better. I'm proud of the team. I think they played hard and battled."
"We're up here in Wisconsin trying to beat a ranked team. We knew we were going to have to go get points, and it kind of backfired on us. But our team kept battling. Right now, they're just better than we are."
"If you play a team like this you need to be ahead. Our defense did a pretty good job of holding them to a field goal in the first drive and we had a couple chance to score. You can't let a team like this get out in front of you because they're just going to keep pounding you and pounding you and hammering at the run game. We knew that coming in."
"I don't know how big their line on the offense is going across, but they're 6'3 across the line and veterans. We have two sophomore tackles and guys that I love. They're fighting their butts off in the middle. We just don't look like them right now."
On Wisconsin's run game wearing on Nebraska:
"That's what they do. That's what they're built to do. That's what we used to do when I played quarterback. Run it, run it, run it, and by the third quarter the short runs start to pop and you earn a lot of possession. That's their game plan. This whole game from the start was the type of game they wanted to be in. They're built for that with their side and physical nature, and we needed to get ahead of them early."
